AELF FlightService will add two new passenger aircraft to its fleet, which it uses to provide wet-lease (ACMI) and charter services. The airline will operate the aircraft jointly with its Malta-based subsidiary Maleth Aero.
AELF Group has a fleet of five A330-200s. Two of them (9H-BFS and 9H-MFS) are configured with 345Y (economy class) seats. The third, MSN 871 registered as 9H-LFS, has a cabin with 24 business-class (J) and 259 economy-class (Y) seats.
All A330s in the current fleet are configured to convert to freighter (P2F). In the conversion process, passenger seats are removed and cargo nets are installed. In this way, capacity is added beyond that of the standard cargo holds.
Now, Maleth Aero said it will take delivery of two more aircraft. These are scheduled for delivery in September and October, and both will seat 295 passengers in a 12J/283Y configuration. Stephen Haire, AELF’s vice president of business aviation, said: «We are delighted to be able to continue to evolve and expand into new areas.»
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«Our team is signing short- and long-term contracts for wet-lease and passenger charter services. We also plan to offer, in a few more months, cargo transportation through a supplemental type certificate (STC) that we have been working on for the past year,» Haire added. The STC was developed by Avensis and is expected to be approved in the coming months.
In 2020, AELF Group acquired Maleth Aero looking to enhance its offering by including the provision of charter flights and wet-lease services. The company notes that through this business it has established a strong position in the market.
